The Family Man
by Chakat StarDust
Summary: Hao wakes up in a world where he and Yoh grew up together. Finding out it's only temporary he plays along, waiting for the nightmare to end, but will the nightmare turn out to be the impossible dream? Based somewhat off the Nicholas Cage movie by the same name
1. Chapter 1

Star: New story! This is based somewhat off the movie by the same name with Nicolas Cage in it, in one of his better roles in my opinion. I hope that you enjoy, and happy reading.

The humans had a saying, third time's the charm. Third life, third attempt at destroying humanity, by the logic of that saying, it should have worked. He'd come so close, so tantalizingly close, and then it all fell apart, and maybe he would have to wait another five hundred years.

Part of it was his own fault; he'd been too eager, too arrogant, and he'd gone after the Great Spirit without winning. He hadn't needed to, he would have won hands-down. And then there was Yoh. In retrospect he shouldn't have allowed Yoh to live all those years ago to be trained to combat him.

How had Yoh beaten him? He had been so much stronger, so much wiser than his foolish younger brother, and yet at that crucial moment, he was the one who came out the loser. He should have died, Yoh could have dealt him a death blow, so the question was had Yoh chosen not to kill him, or had he simply miscalculated?

It didn't really matter either way; he was still alive, even if he'd had to stay on bed-rest for some time to recover from his injuries. He'd done it alone; he hadn't contacted any of his followers. He couldn't let any of them see the one they practically viewed as God barely able to even drag himself out of bed. It would have been too humiliating.

He sat on a park bench, just watching the world go by. He was in the city, which grated on him a little bit being so close to so many humans, but he could deal with it for the time being. It was a fairly quiet neighbourhood anyways. The place he'd bought a couple years ago that he was staying in now was only a little ways away from the En inn. He'd purposely chosen an abode close by so he could keep an eye on his other half's progress.

He'd come to this place so that he could exact his revenge on his brother when he was well enough. But he'd been well for some time, and yet had not gone. He didn't know what was stopping him, why he was hesitating, but it frustrated him.

He watched a little girl and her mother in the nearby playground for a couple minutes. No one gave him a second glance, he was wearing so-called 'normal' clothes in order to not stand out. The little girl's mother caught her as she slid down the slide and lifted her, giggling, into a hug.

The ever-familiar longing that he struggled with all the time bubbled to the surface, along with rage. Why the hell did they deserve a happy family and not him? The question had plagued him for an entire millennium and he still had no answer. The notion of family both drew him in and made him angry at the same time.

He'd never admit such a weakness, ever. And he would never be so foolish to think he could ever find a family again. He was Hao Asakura, he didn't need such relationships, they only made him weak. He was alone by choice, and that was the way he liked it, or so he told himself.

He stood up, deciding it was time to leave. "Oops!" Someone said behind him and he watched as a few papers drifted by him on a small breeze. He snatched one out of the air and picked up a couple more, raising an eyebrow at what looked like spell diagrams.

He turned, finding a young woman in a long black trenchcoat and a beanie settled low over her head, odd attire for the warm weather, picking up several more papers. As she stood Hao held out the ones he'd managed to pick up. She looked up at him and he stiffened, caught in her familiar, aqua-blue eyes.

"Thank you, Hao." Kia said to him, taking the papers. Hao couldn't help but remember the last time they'd met. Kia's words still stung, even if they'd been said five hundred years before. He nodded his head curtly and turned to go. A hand gripped his wrist, stopping him.

"You can release me." Hao told her. Her eerie eyes smiled into his.

"You helped me, now it's my turn to help you find what you've lost." She said to him. The words made his skin prickle and he could have sworn that a small wind brushed around them as she had spoken. He shook her off impatiently though.

"I've lost nothing." He growled. She smiled again, knowingly.

"Go home, Hao." She told him. "Things will look different in the morning." With that she continued on her way, papers firmly clutched in her hands. Hao shook his head and headed on back to his place, grumbling about meddlesome wolf-girls.

He unlocked the front door and stepped inside the modest flat. It was quiet except for his own nearly silent footsteps. A stab of loneliness pierced him and he brushed it away impatiently. He'd chosen this life, gladly, he didn't need other people around, they only ever seemed to screw things up.

Even so, he put on some music as he went about preparing some dinner, so the place didn't seem so empty. He found himself contemplating what Kia had said. What did she mean by 'what he'd lost'? She couldn't mean the chance to fulfil his destiny, she was dead set against that and had made that perfectly, painfully clear to him.

So, what could she mean? As far as he knew, he'd lost nothing but his battle against Yoh. He chastised himself for getting so bent out of shape about this. For all he knew she was just playing with his head. Still, he resolved to be cautious; she had a lot of interesting tricks up her sleeves and probably had learned more since their few weeks together teaching each other of their magics.

He pushed away those old memories and puttered around his flat, reading and listening to music until he grew tired. He really wished something interesting would happen; he was becoming bored here waiting for something, anything to happen. He realized with a slight jolt that it was about a week until his sixteenth birthday, not that they meant anything important to him anymore, other than another year gone by without reaching his goal.

He should go pay his brother, he thought to himself as he got ready for bed. He'd been putting it off for too long. He smirked to himself, thinking that Yoh would get a big surprise indeed. He just needed to think of what he wanted to do to the poor stupid kid.

He yawned and settled down. "Things will look different in the morning." He mocked quietly to the empty room. "Well, maybe they will, but that will be my doing and not Kia's." Secure in his confidence he drifted off to a peaceful slumber.

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Star: Short, but we don't want to give away too much yet, now do we?


	2. Chapter 2

Star: Okay, let's get this show on the road. I own nothing but the plot, partially, and my OCs.

Hao hated waking up. Blearily he shoved his head under his pillow, trying to block out the sunlight telling him that it was time to get up. He was just managing to doze off when an unfamiliar sound intruded on his consciousness. It took him a couple moments to realize what it was; snoring... someone was in the room with him.

He shot up and looked around the room, searching for the other person. He couldn't suppress a surprised scream when he saw the most unlikely person sleeping on a futon next to his; Yoh Asakura. He instantly regretted the scream because Yoh's dark eyes snapped open and stared at him. Yoh sat up slowly, and to Hao's surprise, gave him a worried look.

"What's wrong aniki?" Yoh asked him, further surprising him. "Have another nightmare?"

This was too much for Hao to handle and he bolted from the room. "It's a dream, it's a dream." He muttered to himself, not realizing he was only clad in a pair of black boxers until he was well into the street. He halted for a moment, trying to catch his breath and realizing that he was in Yoh's neighbourhood. Thankfully it was early enough that no one had observed him, but it wouldn't stay that way.

"It's just a dream, I'll wake up and it won't matter anymore." Hao growled to himself, desperate for it to be true.

"It's no dream, Hao." Hao turned and found Kia standing in the street, smiling at him. "I told you things would look different in the morning." She said, walking up to him.

"What have you done?" Hao demanded.

"I am merely giving you a taste of what could have been, had different choices been made, like the choice to try and raise you instead of killing you, for instance." Kia said with something akin to a smirk.

"You mean... that idiot believes me to be his real brother?" Hao gasped, completely aghast by the concept.

"As far he knows, that's who you are. You lived together, played together... that is all I will say, the depth of your relationship will become clear to you soon enough."

"I don't want a relationship with that moron!" Hao yelled, dragging his fingers through his hair in frustration. "Change things back, now!"

"I cannot." Kia shook her head. "The spell must run its course and will do so no matter how much you threaten me, and even if you kill me."

"So this isn't permanent?" Hao said hopefully.

"No." Kia chuckled. "I am not that powerful."

"So when does it wear off?" Hao's heart sank as Kia shrugged.

"There is no exact time line, but you will know when your time is up." She pulled a small set of glass windchimes from her jacket. "The time for this spell to end will come after you hear this sound." She gently ran her finger over the chimes, producing a light, tinkling sound. "Until then, I would advise you to blend in."

"Blend in? Blend in?" Hao demanded, voice rising. "Why on earth would I do that?" Kia shrugged.

"So as not to muddy the waters? See what life could have been like? It's only temporary, Hao, enjoy your reprieve from the real world while it lasts." She told him. "I'd get back to your home soon, before your brother starts worrying."

Hao rolled his eyes heavenward in exasperation. "he's not my-" He looked again and saw that Kia had gone. He growled in irritation and then stalked off back towards the inn. There was nothing else he could do. His own house would not be his own anymore, if what she had said was true.

He stepped inside the old inn and breathed in deeply, smelling something frying. He would never admit it, but he felt nervous. He had no idea how to deal with someone who viewed him as someone to be... loved.

"Aniki, is that you?" Yoh's voice floated to him from the kitchen. "Of course it's you, who else would it be?" Hao jerked slightly; that sounded like something he would say! "You ran out really fast, I was worried."

"Why didn't you come after me then?" Hao asked, scrambling for something, anything to say. He walked slowly into the kitchen. Yoh smiled at him gently, standing over the stove.

"I know sometimes you need to be alone, aniki." He replied, turning his attention back to his work. Hao's eyelid twitched. "Must have been some bad dreams this time."

"Yeah." Hao said, unable to find anything else to say.

"You want to talk about it?" Yoh asked.

"NO!" Hao clamped his mouth shut, the outburst had been unintended. Yoh looked up again, his brows knitted with worry.

"Are you okay, aniki? You're acting really strange."

"I'm fine." Hao tried for a reassuring smile, not entirely sure if he was succeeding or not. "I guess the dream just freaked me out more than I thought."

"That's okay." Yoh shrugged his shoulders. "Can you set out plates and stuff? It's the least you can do, after all it was your turn to make breakfast."

"Of course." Hao said, though he chafed inside at being tasked thusly. He edged around Yoh and found plates and chopsticks, bringing them into the living room and setting them down on the table set up near the TV and couch. He looked around curiously. He'd been in this place before, when Yoh was gone, but this place was different, and he couldn't pin down why. It hit him as Yoh came in, humming softly.

"What happened to Anna?" Hao asked, not seeing any of her touches in the room. Yoh blinked at him, looking perplexed.

"Anna? That girl grandfather tried to set me up with, but you chased away because she tried to slap me?"

"Oh, right. Sorry, really weird dream." Hao apologized, brow furrowing slightly. It annoyed him that the version of himself in this reality seemed to be sappy enough to be protective of his younger twin.

"What, did you dream I got married to Anna?" Yoh chuckled.

"No, part of the dream was me getting married to Anna." Hao hoped that humour would be right in this situation. Yoh roared with laughter, which suggested that it was the right thing to do.

"Was that what you were getting all freaked out about?" Yoh asked when he got his giggles under control.

"It wasn't just that." Hao replied, hoping Yoh wouldn't try to pry any further.

"Well, whatever it was, it's over now." Yoh said decisively. "And so is breakfast, apparently." Hao looked up and realized they'd eaten while they'd talked. It was strange because usually meals dragged for him, and he couldn't think of anything but getting away from the table and being alone with his thoughts. But he'd actually eaten without thinking of anything but the conversation at hand, and now felt… content?

"Remember, you get to clean up, since you ran off and left me to make breakfast." Yoh stood up, sauntering to the kitchen with his plate and glass. It irked Hao that Yoh was so at ease around him, and he wondered what could have occurred to have made this happen. So what if he'd been raised as a part of the Asakura family, he would never have allowed this.

Scowling to himself, he walked into the kitchen and got started on the dishes. The act of washing had a soothing effect however and Hao began to see the advantage of having some time where he wasn't having to worry about watching his back, always worried about an attack from the X-Laws or the Asakuras.

In addition to that it was a perfect opportunity to figure Yoh out a little bit, figure out his weaknesses, what scared him. It would help him plan for Yoh's inevitable demise once the spell wore off and he'd gotten back to reality.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't know he was being watched until he looked up and encountered a pair of yellow, slit-pupil eyes staring into his, narrowed in thought. He couldn't suppress a yelp of surprise and lurched back before he recognised the small, but dignified tabby cat spirit standing in front of him.

"Matamune."

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Star: Review plz!


	3. Chapter 3

Star: I own nothing!

His old friend regarded him suspiciously. "You sound surprised to see me, Hao." Hao noticed that Matamune no longer referred to him as 'Hao-sama', and wondered when that lapse had occurred.

"Not at all, you just startled me." Hao tried to smile, but the yellow eyes did not waver from his.

"You…are not Hao." Matamune hissed.

"What? That's preposterous, who else would I be?" Hao demanded.

"I do not know, but all I know is you are not the Hao that I know now. Who are you, and what have you done with the real Hao?"

"Look, Matamune, I think you-"

"Do not play me for a fool, imposter, and know that if Hao has been harmed, or if you mean to harm Yoh-"

"I am not here to hurt anyone." Hao said, cutting off the cat spirit. He had to come up with something quick, in order to satisfy him before he was attacked. "I was sent, to observe. Your Hao is alright, and will come back once my mission is done."

"He is unharmed?"

"That is correct." Hao replied.

"And your mission, what is that?"

"I cannot say, but I can assure you that it will have no effect on you or anyone else here once my time here is done." Hao fervently hoped that he was projecting enough sincerity to fool the cat spirit.

"And when will that be?"

"I do not know." Hao answered truthfully, with a sigh.

"I suppose I could believe you for now, but if I find you've lied…" Matamune glared.

"I need you not to tell anyone." Hao told him. "It is integral to my mission that I remain undetected in this environment."

"Fine, I will keep your secret, so long as you keep your promise that no harm will come to either the real Hao or Yoh."

"Deal." Hao said, sagging in relief. Matamune nodded his head curtly and was about to disappear. "I could use some help, though. I don't really know what Hao does here."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out on your own." Matamune said with a slight smirk and disappeared.

"Son of a bitch." Hao swore quietly. Matamune had just left him to stumble his way through this mess alone. Not that he blamed his old friend. In Matamune's mind there was an imposter taking his friend's place and though he claimed he meant no harm, who knew what was going on, why should he help out?

He finished the dishes, grumbling softly to himself in irritation and then stalked out of the kitchen, seeking… well, he didn't know what he was seeking honestly. Perhaps just some solitude where he could sort out what the hell was going on and what the hell he was going to do about it.

"Geez, took you long enough." Hao tensed instinctively at the sound of Yoh's voice behind him. How the hell had the kid snuck up on him? "Usually it's me getting lost in a daydream and taking half of forever to finish something."

"Yeah, must be opposite day, or something." Hao replied, trying for a little wit. "Shouldn't you be training?"

"Hmm, probably, are you going to make me?" Yoh asked, widening his eyes and cocking his head in a manner that was likely supposed to be endearing. Hao's nose wrinkled just slightly; it was kind of cute.

"You know I will." He said sternly, hoping he was saying the right things. "If you don't, you know what I'll do."

"2AM cold water wake-up." Yoh muttered. "You are a slavedriver, aniki, I mean, we don't even know if the tournament is going to start up again, not after the X-Laws fiasco."

"Hm, that was quite the show, wasn't it?" Hao said calmly.

"They tried multiple times to kill you and me, and that's all you can say?" Yoh shook his head and laughed. "Sometimes I think you take that 'been there, done that' attitude a little too seriously."

"So says you." Hao retorted. "Now shoo."

"What about you, you have to do your training too." Yoh protested, hands on his hips.

"I'll do it later, I'm still recovering from that nightmare, remember?" Hao smirked as Yoh stuck out his tongue at him. Okay, this was kind of… fun.

"You're an asshole sometimes, aniki." Yoh grumbled, but wandered off outside. Hao waited until he was gone and then ran up to the second floor and out onto the roof so he could observe Yoh in order to figure out what sort of training they did.

He watched as Yoh started off loosening up with an older style of Tai Chi, one that Hao had used when he first lived. Yoh's movements were calm, precise, eyes closed as he moved through the familiar patterns. When his warm up was done he went through a series of strength exercises, taking little breaks in between reps and being sure to drink a lot of water.

"Hao taught him the importance of moderation, and making sure he didn't overstrain his body." Hao jumped slightly as Matamune hopped onto the roof. Hao blinked at him, and then looked back at Yoh, who was now practicing what looked like a form of martial arts, though he wasn't paying enough attention to decipher which.

"What is he doing now?" Hao asked. "Does he not fight with a weapon and with his powers?"

"Yoh wondered why Hao wanted him to learn martial arts too." Matamune chuckled. "Hao explained that Yoh might not always have his weapon, or his powers, and it was useful to have a trump card to bring out when his enemy thought he was down."

"Your Hao was a smart man." Hao commented, eyes still on Yoh. The kid seemed a lot more at ease than when he was doing Anna's torture/training, but then again, it seemed that 'aniki' wouldn't be the type to hand out more training, chores or slaps if he didn't do everything just right. Yoh also wasn't drenched in sweat, his face taut with agony as he forced his body, close to collapse, to go just a little bit further.

"He cares about his brother's wellbeing." Matamune replied, as though reading his mind. "He'll be the first to come after you if something happens to his brother."

"As I said, I'm here merely to observe." Hao said smoothly.

"I hope for your sake you are telling the truth." Matamune said, his tone a warning. He vanished again, going who knows where and Hao sat back to watch Yoh.

The younger Asakura stopped in the middle of his training to happily greet Amidamaru, who appeared in the backyard by his partner. So that hadn't changed at all. For some reason seeing Amidamaru was a little bit of a relief. Perhaps it was just the fact that Amidamaru was familiar, he was something that had not changed in this alternate reality.

He wondered if the meeting had been the same, if Ryu had gone after Yoh in the same way, or if big-brother Hao had chased off the ridiculous looking thug at the first sign of danger. Did Yoh know Ren? Were they enemies or friends? What about all the others? What about the ones Hao had killed or otherwise maimed? What were they doing with their lives now?

The only thing he was sure of was that he was an insufferable sap, in his opinion, in this reality, and that the X-Laws were still bat-shit insane. From the sound of things they'd tried what he'd tried, taking the Great Spirit by force. How did they know about him, though? Did they just go through the history books and decide to create a cult revolving around his death?

As much as Hao hated to admit it, he was intrigued by this world and the possibilities it presented. He didn't like the fact that he seemed to be so harmless, and that he seemed to have given up the goals he'd worked for a thousand years to reach.

"Hmph, sentimentality." Hao said distainfully to himself, sneering as he looked down at his idiot brother happily and obliviously chatting with his guardian spirit. How such a weak creature could make him into a weak creature was beyond him. He suspected some form of magic had been involved, surely he wasn't so vulnerable, especially to his lesser half.

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Star: Review plz!


	4. Chapter 4

Star: I own nothing!

Hao went along with the routines of the day, but dreaded the time for sleeping, when he knew that he would have to sleep in the same room as his other half. Though he was aware that Yoh believed him to be his brother, he could not shake the instinct that told him that Yoh would hurt him, try to kill him, if he let his guard down around him.

He watched Yoh yawn and stretch, then snap the book that he was reading shut. "Getting late, better settle down for the night."

"I suppose we must." Hao agreed, though inside he was cringing. Yoh smiled and headed upstairs, looking back to make sure Hao was following. Hao followed slowly, not wanting to make Yoh feel like something was wrong, but at the same time feeling uncomfortable knowing they were sleeping in the same room and that he would be vulnerable.

He avoided looking at Yoh while they were undressing. "Don't forget." Yoh said, making him look up.

"Forget what?" Hao asked, looking at Yoh blankly. Yoh rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Ren, Ryu, Manta and Horohoro are coming over for movie night, we need to get movies and snacks tomorrow, you know how much they eat."

"Yeah." Hao said. "I forgot about that."

"You're more absentminded than me sometimes." Yoh commented, shaking his head. Hao found himself staring at the long scar that ran across one shoulder. "Why you staring at me like that?" Yoh asked, his voice coloured with worry.

"Does that one still pain you at all?" Hao asked, searching his mind to think where Yoh had gotten that particular scar from.

"Twinges a bit when it's damp, but not really." Yoh shrugged. "I'll never forget waking up with you walking in the door, calling me an idiot and telling me it was far past the time you should start training me and damn whatever the old man said." Yoh chuckled, in apparent amusement, at the memory.

"That was some fight you got yourself into."

"You always make it sound like I go looking for trouble." Yoh grumbled good-naturedly, shrugging on his yukata, hiding the network of scars that tattooed his skin. "Trouble comes looking for me, remember?"

"Half the time because of me." Hao said, playing on a hunch.

"You know I don't care about that." Yoh said with a smile. "Quit beating yourself up over people like the X-Laws."

"I wasn't." Hao denied. Yoh patted his shoulder; obviously this was something they had done often enough.

"Uh-huh." Yoh yawned and flopped down on his futon. Hao finished dressing in his yukata and lay down, careful to keep his back to Yoh. "Aniki?"

"Hmm?" Hao asked.

"Are you sure you're okay? You've been a little… off today." Hao turned over and gave Yoh what he hoped was a reassuring smile. Yoh frowned slightly at him, apparently not willing to take just that.

"I'm sorry, Yoh. I have been feeling a little disoriented all day." Hao admitted, keeping as close to the truth as he could.

"The dream you had." Yoh guessed. Hao nodded his head. "You know it helps to talk about these sort of things." Hao turned on his back, not answering. He heard Yoh sigh. "You know, I really can't stand it when you shut me out like this, but I understand. Whenever you're ready, you know I'm right here."

"Yeah, I know." Hao replied softly. He lay awake until Yoh's breathing evened out and it was clear he was asleep. He then quietly got up and slipped out the open window, climbing up to the roof. He lay down and stared up at the meager number of stars that could be seen. He always did his best thinking while looking up at the stars.

"You seem troubled." Hao didn't jump at the sound of Amidamaru's voice. He'd been expecting the samurai all day and had not seen him. He suspected he was catching up with friends in the cemetery, or just simply watching from the sidelines.

"Why do you say that?" Hao asked.

"You only ever come out here at night when you are." Amidamaru replied. Hao nodded his head. It made sense, he supposed, that this world's Hao would come outside to do his brooding, away from his, shudder, brother. "It is about Yoh again, isn't it?"

"Isn't it always?" Hao asked grumpily. It was strange how naturally he was slipping into the role of protective brother. A little unnervingly too easy, in fact.

"You worry about him, it is only natural." Amidamaru replied.

_No it's not!_ Hao wanted to shout. Yoh wasn't supposed to be anything to him, he was just a piece of himself, a source of power for him to take when the moment was right. He was a mistake that never should have existed, and Hao, the real Hao, not this reality's tamed version, would never care at all about what happened to him, so long as in the end Yoh's power came back to him.

"He's strong, I know that, and he can defend himself, he's proved that many times over." He said instead.

"But, he will always be your little brother." Amidamaru chuckled. "I remember days of dark muttering about killing uppity Chinese brats who dared injure Yoh. I remember your face at first seeing the wounds Ren inflicted on Yoh, and I remember the arguments about how Yoh felt you were being too hard on him and you just wanting to make sure that he would never get hurt like that again."

Hao disliked this alternate Hao even more as Amidamaru spoke. What an unbelievable emotional stupid sap! There had to be something else at work. He just couldn't believe that simply living with the Asakuras for all these years could have created this.

"You've got that scowl on your face." Amidamaru observed.

"What scowl?" Hao asked, feigning innocence.

"The one that says you're contemplating hurting someone." Amidamaru answered. "It's the one you wore a lot when it came to the X-Laws going after Yoh."

"I can't believe those idiots would go after him." Hao muttered, unaware of what he was saying.

"They knew he was close to you." Amidamaru shrugged. "You were quite angry with Yoh after they'd kidnapped Manta and he went alone to try and bargain for him back."

"Well, it was a stupid move, and he knew it." Hao snapped. This really was too easy, and it was painfully obvious how easily fooled even Amidamaru was.

"As you've reminded him many times since then." Amidamaru reminded him. "You need to let the past be past sometimes, I know that's often hard for you."

"Let the past be past." Hao repeated slowly. How was he supposed to let go of his past, the things that were done against him, against his mother? Did Amidamaru not see that the past was what made him who he was? Of course not, Amidamaru didn't know him.

"You know I don't mean forget it entirely, remember the lessons, yes, but don't keep drudging it up. What's done is done, nothing can change it, and so long as Yoh's learned from his mistakes, there's no reason to bring up his mistakes anymore."

"Perhaps you're right, though Yoh is so incredibly thick-headed sometimes that the only way I can get something through his head is to beat him with it!" Hao growled, hoping he wasn't being too overly dramatic.

"Well, the same can be said for you." Amidamaru pointed out. Hao glared at him. "You and Yoh are so alike sometimes." Amidamaru merely chuckled, not at all intimidated by Hao. Hao was annoyed by this, but did not allow it to show on his face. "Alike and yet so different." Amidamaru continued to muse. He smiled up at the sky and then looked to Hao. "You should sleep, while you can, the others are coming tomorrow for Movie night and I doubt you'll get any sleep then."

"Of course not." Hao grumbled and then sighed, sliding down the roof and back into the bedroom his alternate reality counterpart shared with Yoh. Reluctantly he slid under the covers, doubtful that he would get any sleep with Yoh around.

He kept his back to Yoh, but that didn't prevent the sound of Yoh's gentle breathing from disturbing him. In and out, in and out. It was kind of calming actually, the rhythm of it relaxing. In and out, in and out, in and out…Before Hao was even aware it was happening, he'd fallen into a deep, dreamless slumber.

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Star: So I'm probably not going to be writing much in the next couple days, due to the fact that I'm seeing the Dark Knight Rises midnight premiere tomorrow! *Squees* I'm going to be lining up with my sister tomorrow and then Friday is going to be recovering and sleeping a lot. I will be back to writing as soon as I can think straight again though, so don't you all worry!


	5. Chapter 5

Star: So, first of all, the Dark Knight Rises was brilliant, heartbreaking, inspiring, and in-fucking-credible! That being said, back to your regularly scheduled fanfiction shenanigans.

Hao awoke with a start, eyes darting back and forth. The memory of yesterday came flooding back and he suppressed a groan, reaching up to rub at his face. "You seem disappointed to still be here." Hao looked up into Matamune's amused face.

"This wasn't exactly a task I asked for." Hao replied quietly.

"We don't want you here either, so finish your task and get gone." Matamune hissed. "Oh, and it's time for you to wake up Yoh."

"Why?"

"Hao always wakes up Yoh." Matamune replied before disappearing. Hao growled softly to himself and rolled over, getting up on his knees. He cocked his head, contemplating his other half's sleeping face. He'd thought it was impossible for Yoh's face to look any more open than it was during his waking hours, but somehow, Yoh achieved just that while sleeping. He looked so much younger in slumber, a phenomenon that was contradicted by the scars on his hands and biceps. Yoh turned over, mumbling incoherently in his sleep and Hao felt his lips tug upwards slightly.

He shook his head impatiently and poked Yoh. "Hey, it's time to wake up." Too late he thought he sounded too gruff. Yoh let out a grumpy noise and burrowed further into the covers. "Come on Yoh, it's time to get up, you don't want me to get a water bucket, do you?"

"You're an asshole, go away." Yoh mumbled, shoving his head under the pillow. Hao stifled a laugh.

"Alright, if you are so adamant about staying in bed…" Hao got up and went downstairs. He found a large jug in the kitchen and filled it with the coldest water that would come out of the tap and then mixed several ice cubes into it. He headed back upstairs and contemplated the blanketed lump that was Yoh for a moment before dumping the contents of the jug over him.

Yoh shot out of the bed with a yowl like an angry cat. Hao couldn't help but grin as Yoh sputtered and sneezed, eyes blinking rapidly. He then got the surprise of his life as Yoh barrelled at him, yelling wildly. Hao, not wanting to go with the option of harming Yoh, swallowed his dignity and turned tail and ran.

He managed to get down to the living room before he was tackled from behind. He froze, partly because he wasn't sure what Yoh was doing, but mostly to quell the powerful instinct to fight back, to defend himself. Yoh giggled above him and then Hao had to suppress a yelp as his stomach was attacked, no tickled.

He squirmed, stifling helpless giggles as Yoh expertly tickled him. He had no idea he was so sensitive, and the whole thing was just completely humiliating, but Yoh was giggling and the sound was so childish, so innocent, it made it seem less of a humiliation and more of something fun.

"Do you give up, aniki?" Yoh asked.

"Never!" Hao declared, flipping them easily and sitting on top of Yoh. "Now, what should I do with you?"

"You already did something to me, this is my payback!" Yoh retorted, bucking Hao off with an ease that surprised him.

"Hmm, you could be right."

"I am right, and I'm also right about the fact that it's your turn to make breakfast." Yoh said with a smug smile, standing up and practically skipping back upstairs to their bedroom. Hao sat there for a moment, completely at a loss of how he should react. Finally he simply shook his head and stood up. He didn't even bother getting dressed before heading to the kitchen to start on breakfast.

By the time he was done Yoh was back downstairs and had set up plates and cups for the both of them. Yoh was surprisingly patient, waiting for Hao to be finished. "I think you should do breakfast again tomorrow, seeing as I had to do it two days in a row. That way we balance out again."

"That sounds reasonable." Hao replied honestly. He was a little bit startled by Yoh's quick intelligence. Had it always been there, or had it been a product of Hao's presence in Yoh's life? There wasn't really any way for him to know for certain, was there?

"What time are the idiots coming over?" Hao asked without thinking. He cringed internally. Yoh merely threw him an exasperated look.

"They're teenagers, just because you're more mature than they are doesn't make them idiots." Yoh lectured. "Although Ryu and Horohoro sometimes…" Hao couldn't help the chuckle that was startled out of him. Yoh had sounded very much like him in that moment. "Try not to pick fights this time aniki, you know how much of a poor loser Ren can be."

"I won't make any promises." Hao told him.

"You never do." Yoh laughed, shaking his head.

"Except when it's important." Hao guessed, playing on another hunch.

"Except when it's important." Yoh agreed, eyes soft and happy, every inch the adoring little brother. "Now, we have to do the dishes, and start on our training, and you're not allowed to slack today."

"And why is that?" Hao demanded in a playful tone as they cleared the table.

"You didn't have any nightmares." Yoh replied.

"And how do you know that?"

"You didn't tell me." Yoh's confidence, the idea that there was no way that Hao would not have woken him up, spoke volumes about their relationship and how much this reality's Hao trusted him. Hao felt fear and want coil in his gut.

It wasn't that he was afraid to trust, no, Hao Asakura would not be afraid of something so… childish. It was that he knew that trusting people never ended well. How could Yoh have broken that mentality? There had to be something more at work. He sounded like a broken record, but he just couldn't accept this reality.

"Come on, aniki, head out of the clouds." Hao jerked out of his thoughts and hurried after Yoh.

"I was thinking." He said defensively. Yoh gave him a very Hao-like, sure-you-were, smirk in reply. Hao rolled his eyes and got going with washing the dishes while Yoh tidied up the rest of the kitchen. It was very domestic of them, and somehow the mundaneness was soothing to Hao. Neither of them spoke while cleaning up, a feeling of peace settling over them both.

"Time for training." Hao sighed as they finished.

"You might want to get dressed first." Yoh pointed out, snickering at Hao still in his yukata. Hao huffed and stalked out, hearing Yoh's chuckles behind him. The sound did not make him as angry as he thought it would, most likely due to the fact that the sound was merely friendly, teasing, and not malicious in any way. Not that Yoh could ever be malicious.

He got upstairs and changed into a pair of long shorts and a t-shirt. He wished for his own wardrobe, his flashy outfits, but he had to blend in. The shirt was his favourite colour though, at least that hadn't changed in this reality.

He walked out to the backyard, finding Yoh waiting patiently for him, lazily humming to himself. "You could have started."

"You know I never start without you." Yoh replied with a smile. Hao smiled back slightly.

The warm-up poses were easy to get into, the two of them slipping into an easy, familiar, at least for Yoh, rhythm. Their movements were synced together, like two cogs of a machine. The simple, slow movements were soothing and Hao found himself falling into an almost trance-like state.

When Yoh sighed, stopping his movements Hao felt a pang of unhappiness. He'd felt good, his mind clear and uncluttered by thoughts of any kind. Yoh gave him a relaxed smile and without really thinking, Hao smiled the same way in return.

"So, what's on the itinerary today? A run, sparring, strength exercises?" Yoh asked. Hao blinked at his vocabulary; itinerary? Yoh had never casually displayed such proficiency for words in the real world. Then again, he'd never really thought about Yoh as anything but an idiot. Could that have had an effect on the way he perceived him when they spoke?

"We'll go for a run today." He said, dragging himself from his contemplations. "Endurance training. One mile of sprints, one half-mile of easy and repeat, ten miles to start, we'll see how we feel afterwards." This was easy, almost too easy to slip into this persona.

Yoh stretched his arms up to the sky and exhaled slowly. "You're the boss." He quipped. "Think you can keep up with me?" He challenged with a teasing grin.

"Hmph, you'll be eating my dust, Yoh." Hao shot back. Yoh grinned and loped out of the backyard, his legs churning easily. Hao shook his head slightly and then loped after him, determined at least to make sure he bested his other half in whatever they did together.

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	6. Chapter 6

Star: I own nothing!

Hao was surprised at how well Yoh kept pace with him during their run. It was apparent that this reality's Hao had taken Yoh's training very seriously, in different ways than Anna had. Anna had pushed Yoh until he'd collapsed of exhaustion, but this training taught Yoh how to find his body's limitations and work past them in a way that did not leave him hurt. It was stupidly caring of this reality's Hao, but he found he approved; no sense in working Yoh to death, that defeated the purpose of keeping him alive, right?

"Come on Hao, you're falling behind." Yoh called, somehow finding enough energy to sprint the last hundred yards to the house ahead of Hao. Hao, unused to as much running as this, puffed out a ragged breath and sprinted to catch up. He only just lost their little impromptu race.

"Not bad." He gasped out.

"I won, so I get first dibs on shower." Yoh grinned at him. "Then we can go and grab food for tonight."

"Tonight? Oh right." Hao said, remembering that the idiot squad was coming over. "Hurry up, or else."

"Ha, very funny." Yoh patted him on the shoulder before hurrying upstairs. Hao walked over the couch and sat down with a groan, reaching down to massage his feet. He was used to pushing himself, of course, he had the body of a god for a reason, but competing with Yoh had taken everything he had, and still they were evenly matched.

"You two were really going at it today." Amidamaru chuckled, appearing beside him.

"Yeah, where the hell did he get that competitive streak from?" Hao muttered.

"You." Amidamaru replied, dark eyes twinkling in amusement.

_Well, at least this reality's Hao seemed to have gotten something right. _And yet Yoh seemed to be as soft-hearted as ever, if the fact that Ren, Ryu and Horohoro were still his friends were any indication. Competitive, yet compassionate, the two didn't seem to mesh in Hao's mind.

"Remind me, Amidamaru, why are we friends with the people coming over tonight?" Hao asked, hoping the question didn't seem too out of character.

"You were always not one for social interaction, were you?" Amidamaru merely chuckled. "Respect, for the most part, and gratitude. Yoh saved both Ren and Manta and the two of them stuck around long enough for that gratitude to become real friendship. Ryu is somewhat the same, though his gratitude was mixed with respect. Horohoro… I think Horohoro just didn't have many friends his age and jumped on the chance."

"He's like a magnet to people."

"He gets that from you too." Amidamaru commented. Hao shrugged his shoulders, knowing it could be true, it probably was. They both had their ways of drawing people to them, only in different ways.

"Your turn for the shower." Yoh yelled from upstairs. Hao sighed and went up, stepping into the bathroom and turning on the water as hot as it could go, needing to loosen his muscles up somehow and besides, he'd always preferred heat to cold.

He came out of the bathroom, skin steaming slightly, rubbing a towel through his long hair. He went into his and Yoh's bedroom and fumbled around in the drawers for some clothes to wear. He put them on and then attacked his hair with a brush. All the sudden the brush was wrestled from his grip.

"Hey!" he protested, glaring at Yoh.

"You can never get at it all and then you complain about there still being knots." Yoh chuckled, sitting down behind him. "Hold still." Hao sighed and did as he was told, allowing Yoh to gently work the knots out of his hair. It wasn't the first time someone else did such things for him, Opacho being the most recent. It was one of the downfalls of having long hair.

"You know, sometimes I don't think you like the people we hang out with that much." Yoh observed quietly.

"It's not that I don't like them," which wasn't a complete lie on his part. "I just can't always relate to the things they find interesting and the issues they think are relevant. I may look like a teenager, but I'm far older and such childish pursuits are often uninteresting to me. I am glad of their company and their loyalty to you, however."

"I'm glad to hear that, I'd hate to be making you uncomfortable by having them over."

"I was around them all the time during the tournament, did you think I could do that if I didn't at least tolerate them?" Hao queried.

"Sometimes I still don't know how you think, and how much you do is simply to make me happy." Yoh responded. Hao blinked at that; it had been oddly perceptive of Yoh.

"You worry too much about what other people think." He grumbled instead, keeping up appearances.

"Not really, just you." Again Yoh was surprising him, this time with the depth of trust that he seemed to share with this reality's Hao. It was sickeningly sappy and Hao hated it. Or, did he? He wasn't so sure now, having Yoh gently teasing out the tangles in his hair and feeling more content than he had in a long while. "There, we're done."

"I guess we should go get groceries then, huh?" Hao asked, standing up, avoiding looking at Yoh directly.

"That would be the logical next step." Yoh said with a careless shrug.

"Well, let's get it over with then." Hao walked out of the room, confident that Yoh would be right behind him. The quiet footsteps that followed him told him he was right. In no time at all they were heading to the grocery store, neither of them seemed inclined to talk much, maybe there just wasn't anything that needed to be said between them. It was a different story once they got the grocery store.

"So, Ryu and Ren like the all-dressed chips, but Horohoro hates them, meanwhile Ryu hates ketchup, but everyone else likes it. So I think we should get one all-dressed, one ketchup and one regular to keep our options open, right?" Yoh chatted away, not quite listening to Hao.

"I think we're going to have stomachaches when this is done."

"We usually do." Yoh responded cheerfully. "We'll just go for Coke for drinks because everyone likes that and then there's no fighting. We've still got popcorn in the house, so we don't need to get that."

"Nothing healthy, of course." Hao groused. He didn't care for what was known as 'junk food'.

"We can grab some of those dried apricots and apple rings that you like." Yoh offered. "I know you don't like to eat a lot of junk."

"It's no good for you." Hao huffed indignantly.

"And I am well aware of that, which is why we only eat it once in a while." Yoh chuckled. "Always so prickly."

Hao opened his mouth to make a cutting remark, and then closed it again, realizing what a stupid mistake that would be. He chafed at having to play the loving big brother to an idiotic child who meant nothing at all to him, and hoped that the spell would wear off soon, before he did something drastic.

"I think that's it." Yoh declared, looking down into the basket. "They'll be there soon, so we should hurry back."

Hao was of course in no hurry to see Yoh's gang of morons, but he went along anyways, listening to Yoh chatter away as they walked back to the inn. He made appropriate comments in all the right places, his mind not totally on the conversation. He wondered if Kia was around somewhere, and if it was possible to force her to change things back. He quickly decided that was a false hope; Kia was ancient and clever and she knew him, she would not fall prey to any traps he might set.

He helped Yoh set up sleeping quarters for everyone, pointing out that there really wasn't any need, they wouldn't likely be getting any sleep. "It's the principal of the matter." Yoh said pragmatically. "When you have guests, you make sure you have some place for them to stay, regardless of whether they're going to need it or not."

When the hell did Yoh get so smart? Hao wondered this and decided it had to do with growing up with him, or at least this universe's version of him. Yoh certainly wasn't this clever normally… or was he? Hao thought about that for a little while, and came to the conclusion that Yoh might actually have been smarter than he gave him credit for. After all, a complete moron wouldn't have been able to get as far as Yoh had in the tournament.

Hao was mulling this over when the doorbell rang. He tensed up as Yoh yelled that he was getting the door. "And so it begins." He muttered softly to himself, preparing himself for a hell of an evening.

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	7. Chapter 7

Star: I own nothing!

Hao reluctantly trumped down the stairs as the voices of Horohoro and Manta drifted up through the house. "Hey dude!" The blue-haired Ainu waved enthusiastically at him. Hao favoured him with a slight smile and a nod. "Aw come on, relax, let your hair down, figuratively speaking of course."

"It's nice to see you again, Hao." Manta added. "Ignore Horohoro, he's already had too much sugar today."

"Well, at least one of you still has some sense left in their heads." Hao commented. He was likely to be closer to Manta than Horohoro, as Manta was book smart and intelligent, which appealed to Hao, despite the fact that Manta was merely human.

"Yeah, any thoughts about cram school this summer?" Manta asked.

"I'd prefer to wait and see if the tournament gets going before I make a decision." Hao stated.

"Figured you'd say that." Manta nodded his head. "Deadline's soon though, so you gotta decide quickly. It'd be a good way to get a jump on high school, start off a little ahead."

"Maybe I'll enroll Yoh as well." Hao said, giving his other half, who was chatting happily with Horohoro, a sidelong glance. Yoh made a face at him.

"Oh, now you want to take away summer vacation, huh? It's not as though you make me do reading lists and math 'games' anyways." Yoh complained to the room in general. "I swear, sometimes you're worse than our parents."

Hao squashed the automatic response of 'your parents' and instead said "You have a tendency to be a little slower to understand things because of your ADD, so it's better for you to have a little bit of an advantage there, because I know you're smart enough to grasp and master any concept you come across, if given the appropriate amount of time."

Yoh rolled his eyes. "You always sound like a professor when you're trying to lecture me. I know, Hao, but that doesn't mean I can't grouse about it." He sighed patiently.

"Come on, you can't make Yoh go to school during the summer." Horohoro argued. Hao gave him a look. "Please don't eat me." Horohoro chuckled, hiding behind Yoh. The roar of a motorcycle announced Ryu's arrival, and Yoh was distracted by being lifted bodily into the air by the tall former thug. Ryu settled for a smile and a friendly nod at Hao, who returned it. Thankfully none of Yoh's idiots had tried to be touchy-feely with him; he probably would not have been able to handle that.

The final member to show up was of course Ren. Hao was the one to greet him at the door and instantly his eyes narrowed. "Thinking you're going to need some protection?" He asked, seeing the Bao-Lei sticking out of Ren's long trench coat.

"You never know." Ren responded defensively.

"You are not challenging me or Yoh tonight to combat. You want to spar, come during training." Hao said firmly. "This is fun-time, not battle time."

"Fine, fine." Ren groused. "One of these days I'm going to take your brother down though."

"Heh, not likely. You forget who trained him." Hao smirked at Ren, who narrowed his eyes in challenge.

"So perhaps I should be going after the teacher." He stated.

"I'm surprised it took such an intelligent child so long to come to that conclusion." Hao mocked. Ren snorted and then smiled slightly, clapping a hand on Hao's shoulder.

"It's good to see you again too, Hao." Ren then sauntered around Hao and into the knot of people that made up Yoh and his friends. "Alright you morons, let's get this 'bonding time' over with."

Yoh and the others protested Ren's use of the word 'moron' with good-natured understanding of the way Ren was. It was a few minutes before everyone settled down to try to come up with a movie to watch.

"All I ask is that it's something intelligent." Hao said, sitting down next to Yoh. It was the most likely spot that this universe's Hao would sit, as much as he detested it.

"I concur." Ren nodded his head. "No stupid action movies that are all explosions and fight scenes."

"Hey, action movies are awesome!" Horohoro said defensively.

"They're over the top drivel." Ren countered.

"I got an idea." Yoh interrupted. "Something that will satisfy both the need for action and intelligence." He paused for effect. "V For Vendetta."

"Ah, now there's a good decision." Ren said happily.

"What do you expect from my brother?" Hao asked. The pride was only half-faked. The movie was indeed a very good one, one of the few that Hao could stand watching, and it was incredibly intelligent as well. Yoh smiled at him happily, and the simple expression unexpectedly caused a surge of warmth inside of Hao.

He desperately squished that warmth down. It had no place in him, there was no place in Hao's guarded soul for kinship with his other half. It didn't matter that having someone who didn't view him as a monster or a god was something of a relief, it didn't matter that Yoh's smile could light up his darkened soul, this wasn't his world and he had no place feeling these things.

Yoh went to put in the movie and then sat down beside Hao again, nudging right up against him so that there was room for everyone who was trying to sit. Hao willed himself not to tense up, but found the contact was not as abhorrent as he'd thought it would be, partly because of how comfortable Yoh seemed just leaning against him.

The whole experience was, in fact, not as painful as Hao had been fearing. The movie that had been chosen was very thought-provoking and yet had enough violence and action to appease the less intellectual individuals of the group.

Yoh surprised Hao by joining in his and Ren's discussions on the symbolism and foreshadowing events of the film. He was just as intelligent in discussing the parallels of the world created in the movie with that of the novel 1984, and how a government like seen in the movie could come about in the near future with the right tactics.

They finished the movie but were not tired and so put in Batman Begins. Hao was pleased once again to find an intelligent plot line and characters, though he argued with Ryu about Rachel Dawes. He felt that the character should have been played with more intelligence and not viewed as a damsel in distress, while Ryu felt that Batman needed a damsel in distress to save.

They started the Dark Knight, but were starting to drop off to sleep while watching it. Soon Hao was the only one still awake and watching. He was more focused on the fact that Yoh's head was resting on his shoulder, and he had a one-armed grip around Hao's middle, as though he were hugging a teddy bear.

He could hear Yoh's soft, even breathing against his neck and felt the steady bump-bump of his heartbeat against his arm where Yoh was pressed against him. Absentmindedly he reached out and touched Yoh's hair, stroking the soft strands lightly. Yoh murmured in his sleep and nuzzled closer to Hao.

Hao removed his hand quickly, heartbeat speeding up. He considered pushing Yoh off him, but that would likely wake the younger twin and prompt a whole lot of questions he did not want to have to answer. So he just say there, his arm slowly going numb from Yoh's weight.

"Uncomfortable?" Matamune's voice was a bare whisper in his ear. Hao turned his head to look into the luminous eyes of the cat spirit.

"I'm not exactly used to physical contact like this." Hao said truthfully.

"You hide it from him well." Matamune commented. "When are you going to be gone?"

"I still don't know. The moment I know, you'll know too." Hao growled quietly.

"I hope it's sooner rather than later." Matamune muttered, disappearing.

"You and me both." Hao murmured.

Yoh sighed in his sleep and Hao went tense, hoping the younger wasn't waking up. Yoh simply shifted and settled back down into sleep. The sooner he was gone from this reality, the better. It wasn't fair to this version of Yoh to have suddenly a brother that didn't actually care about him and who was only acting for his sake.

Hao shook his head and wrinkled his nose at the thought. Since when did he care about Yoh's feelings in all of this? It was just ridiculous, he was only playing along to save his own ass, that was it, that was all. There was absolutely no sentimentality involved at all.

Still, there was something calming about the whole situation, Yoh leaning against him, completely trusting. His slow breathing lulled Hao into a trance-like state. A little brother, a real one, what would that feel like? Would it feel like this? The concept was all too tempting and Hao knew he would have to guard his heart more fiercely from now on.

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	8. Chapter 8

Star: I own nothing!

Hao jerked awake as a finger tapped his cheek. "Aniki…" Yoh's voice teased. "Wakey-wakey." Hao opened one eye to glare at the younger, but Yoh just grinned at him. It was annoying that Yoh didn't take him more seriously, but he just had to deal with it for now.

"Unusual that you're the one trying to get me up instead of the other way around." Hao remarked, sitting up and brushing pieces of popcorn off his lap. Yoh shrugged his shoulders.

"I figured you'd want to at least take a morning jog before the rest of them woke up and starting asking you for training tips and to spar." He explained.

"Yeah, probably." Hao agreed, standing up. "Just let me get changed." Yoh nodded and Hao padded silently upstairs, pulling on some clothes before heading downstairs. Yoh met him at the door and the two of them got going at a leisurely pace. Hao looked over at Yoh and found him smiling in a nostalgic way. "What are you thinking about?"

"Hm?" Yoh looked at him in surprise. "Oh, I was just thinking how far you've come since we've met all those guys. I mean, you didn't trust them at all, didn't really trust anyone come to think of it. But now…"

"Now I have movie nights with them." Hao finished. "I wasn't all that bad, was I?"

"You threatened to set Horohoro's snowboard on fire the first time he came in after our Shaman fight." Yoh laughed. "I think the only one you never threatened was Manta, and that's only because he wasn't a shaman."

"Hmph, of course, what was he going to do, and you were already so pleased at having made a friend all by yourself that I couldn't risk scaring him off." Hao said, finding it all too easy to follow the story that this world seemed to be centered around.

"Yeah, you weren't very pleased about 'sharing' me though." Yoh chuckled. "As soon as he wasn't watching you, you'd glare at the back of his head as though you were trying to telepathically explode his brain."

"Hey, we were all we had for so long…" Hao didn't know enough to continue with that thought. He knew that Yoh didn't have friends before getting to Tokyo and he doubted it had been any different this time around either. Yoh nodded his head soberly though.

"I know how hard this has all been for you." Yoh said, stopping and facing Hao. "I haven't said it enough and I really should. Thank you, aniki, for going along when you didn't trust the people I had at my back, and for letting me fight my own battles instead of jumping in and solving all my problems for me."

"You'd never grow up if I did that." Hao pointed out. "You don't need to thank me for allowing you to learn from your mistakes."

"Yes I do." Yoh responded and quicker than Hao could blink he found himself wrapped in an almost crushing embrace. He fought down the instinct to fight back and allowed his body to relax into the hug. He hugged back, because he knew it was expected of him, but he actually kind of enjoyed it, which worried him some.

"Hey, why don't you head home and I'll catch up to you." Hao suggested.

"Need some time to yourself before the horde demands all of your attention?" Yoh smirked.

"Yeah, something like that." Hao agreed. Yoh clapped him on the shoulder and smiled.

"Don't be too long, or else they'll come looking for you." Yoh said as he cheerfully began jogging back towards the house. Hao watched him until he disappeared and then began to walk in the other direction. He made his way to the cemetery and went up to the hill. It was as good a place as any to think, he supposed.

He cupped his chin in one hand, sitting down on the grass and scowling at the city below him. It really was stupid of him to be getting all sentimental over a hug. It didn't mean anything, this Yoh was used to giving his Hao hugs all the time obviously. He shouldn't be getting so bent out of shape about something that should have been so mundane.

Except to him, it wasn't mundane. He hadn't had someone hug him out of pure affection since… well probably Matamune, really. He'd decided to forgo such emotions as affection, and even his marriages were loveless, merely a means to an end to secure an heir. He'd worked so hard to become what he had, unable to be broken by love, and one simple embrace threatened that entirely.

Truth be told though he'd cut himself off from any sort of intimate relationships, he still craved them. Maybe it was having his mother taken from him so young, but he had always an overwhelming craving for affection. It was the reason he kept Opacho around, so that he could pretend they were an actual family, even though she viewed him as no less than a god and practically worshiped him.

This world was a cruel trick, he decided. It had to be revenge for something Kia thought he'd done to her. She knew his secrets after all, it wasn't that improbable that she had designed this spell simply to watch him fall apart knowing he could never actually have any of this. Well, he'd show her that he wasn't that weak. It was… nice, to have someone so at ease with him, but he didn't need Yoh, not at all.

Having affirmed his convictions he determined that it was time to get back to the house and face the idiots. He sighed heavily, wishing that he could just pummel them into the ground and be done with it, but no, he had to play nice, otherwise Kia might never let him out of this nightmare. He trudged back to the inn, going as slowly as he dared. This was not going to be fun.

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It seemed that the universe was out to prove him wrong. While giving out training tips was by no means his ideal way to spend a day, he had to admit that he had a bit more fun with it than he thought he would. He did like teaching, and helping Yoh's idiots with their training was just another form of teaching, wasn't it?

He was thankful when they left though; they were too loud and too crowding. They promised however to be back for their birthday, which was only days away. Hao rolled his eyes and thought that this birthday was just something to dread. He'd never gotten the point of celebrating birthdays; hurray you're still alive, whatever.

"Was that so painful?" Yoh teased, grabbing a couple of stray soda cans. Hao gave him a deadpan look, which made Yoh snicker. "At least Horohoro and Ren didn't get into it this time. Probably thought you'd make good on your threat to duct-tape them to the ceiling."

"Who says I wouldn't have?" Hao countered, making Yoh giggle again. He tried not to concentrate on how nice it was to hear that sound. "Honestly, you couldn't have picked a few more friends like Manta, maybe a few who were mute?"

"Now where would be the fun in that?" Yoh teased. "Admit it, you like them."

"Well, I haven't tried to run them off yet, have I?"

"That does say so much more than words ever could." Yoh grinned. "Do you mind getting out the vacuum and getting rid of all this popcorn and ground up chips? I'll finish with the recycling."

"Sure." Domestication, it was so dull, and yet somehow Hao found the routine, everyday quality of this life a little soothing. It was different; like drifting aimlessly on the tides without a real destination in mind. For once he wasn't scheming or putting plans into motion, he was just letting life come at him as it wished. The idea of letting go of control like this would have horrified him in any other situation.

He relaxed into the dance that he and Yoh seemed to have developed over the years that they were obviously together of just barely missing bumping into each other. He didn't really mind cleaning, it wasn't as though he hadn't done any on his own, there were times when he didn't have followers, minions, or whatever you wanted to call them.

Neither of them needed to speak, neither seemed to need to speak, and when they finished cleaning they simply sat down and Yoh turned on the television to watch some show on Discovery Channel that was actually quite interesting.

Hao couldn't help but sneak little looks at Yoh throughout the day, wondering where this intelligent young man had come from. Had Yoh always been like this, or was it thanks to Hao's tutelage? Hao wasn't so sure, having seen Yoh fight and having seen the way he could get to the heart of people.

By the time it was dark and time for bed Hao had come to the conclusion that Yoh was actually smart, in the real world too. For some reason though he chose not to show it, not the way he seemed to in this reality anyways. Hao guessed it had to do with being bullied when he was younger and wanting to stay out of the limelight.

Here though obviously this realm's Hao had done something to keep Yoh from wanting to hide himself. Perhaps he'd scared away the bullies, or taught Yoh how to defend himself against them. In any case, being raised together seemed to have been good for Yoh at least.

"Soon we'll be sixteen." Yoh said sleepily, settling into his covers.

"You'll be sixteen." Hao corrected him automatically. Yoh smiled softly.

"You're only as old as you feel." He said wisely. "Goodnight aniki."

"Goodnight Yoh." Hao whispered, lying down. He stared up at the ceiling, listening to Yoh's breathing grow deep and slow and wondered if being raised together hadn't just been good for Yoh at all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~&~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~&~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Star: So, this will be the last update for almost three weeks. I am taking a field course for school, and there is no internet where we are going. I may be able to work on chapters while I'm gone, so hopefully I'll have something new for you all as soon as I get back. So, I'll see you all in a little while, I promise not to get lost or eaten by ravenous chipmunks!


	9. Chapter 9

Star: I'm baaaaccckkkkk! Enjoy a new chapter, after two weeks of waiting!

"I know that Yoh's birthday is coming up, and since I do not know how long I will be here, would it be prudent of me to get Yoh a birthday present?" Hao asked Matamune. Yoh had gone off with Manta for some reason, he'd declined to go, preferring to stay away as much as possible.

Matamune chuckled at him. "You don't know much about the one you are here to replace, do you?" He asked. "The real Hao has had Yoh's birthday present ready for weeks."

"I see, then I have nothing to fear." Hao said, but Matamune had disappeared again. "Stupid cat." He muttered. He put down his book and stared at the wall. His eyes fell on the bookshelf and the series of family albums set upon the shelves. Out of boredom and curiosity he decided that he would look at the pictures.

The very first picture was of a pair of newborns. It was obvious which one was Hao, as he was scowling already at the camera. Yoh was contently cuddled up to him, fast asleep. It was sickeningly cute, except for the scowl on baby-Hao's face. There were a few pictures like that, Yoh being stupidly cute and baby Hao not wanting anything to do with it.

After about a year it seemed as though baby Hao was softening a little, at least when Yoh was in the picture with him. Yoh was very clingy as a baby, always all over baby Hao, and baby Hao seemed to bear it with some level of tolerance. He paused at a picture of them both around three years old, with a big book laid out across their knees, mouths open as they read aloud.

"I remember that." Hao managed not to jump at the sound of Yoh's voice. He looked behind him, frowning slightly at Yoh. Yoh smiled tenderly back. "It's one of my first memories."

"What, me teaching you to read?" Hao asked with some surprise.

"Yeah, I remember you being reluctant, but you made sure to teach me well. I was reading small chapter books by the time I was in kindergarten." Yoh smiled, a faraway look in his eyes. "Us two smartie-pants weren't well received in school."

"People are always intimidated by those who are smarter than them." Hao said without thinking. It didn't sound sappy enough for this universe's Hao.

"You're always so judgemental." Yoh teased, to Hao's infinite relief. Yoh sat down next to Hao and rested his head on his shoulder. The gesture seemed familiar and yet foreign all at once. Hao found himself leaning his head slightly to rest it on the side of Yoh's instinctively. His heart gave a sudden, painful squeeze. "But I suppose you're right."

"I'm always right." Hao said with a sniff. Yoh snorted derisively, but Hao could just about feel him smiling.

"We did get in trouble, for being smart." Yoh murmured, half to himself. "Though the bullies only ever bothered us once, because of you. Never had any friends until Manta."

"Because of me." He felt Yoh shake his head against him.

"No, because we were… us. Because we were different. It would have been the same even if you hadn't been there. I didn't mind, too much anyways."

"What's that mean?"

"I mean, we always had each other, right?" Yoh shifted slightly and Hao nodded his head. "It was enough, I was never lonely, but sometimes I wished… sometimes you need to get away, right? To have some time with someone who might be different from the people, or person, you always knew. We're so different sometimes Hao, but in many ways we're quite alike, and sometimes we rub each other the wrong way because of it. But that's just how brothers are."

"I understand, I think." Hao said. "I, of course, hadn't had anyone for the longest time, and so I think I sort of just clung to you, after I stopped trying to push you away." He could sense Yoh smiling again. "We are closer than most siblings I think."

"Twins tend to be anyways, but you're right about that." Yoh agreed. "I think grandfather finally told me who you really were simply because he didn't like how close we are."

"Really?" Hao said.

"I never said much about that day, did I?"

"What was there to say?" Hao asked.

"I think you would like what I told him." Hao glanced at Yoh and raised an eyebrow. "I said that it didn't matter to me what you had done, or who you had been, you were my brother now and I loved you. I also said I didn't appreciate him trying to tell me how to think. When he told me that if you hadn't grown up with me you'd be trying to kill me I told him that I didn't care, and that I would love you even then, because you're my brother."

Hao's mind froze, stuck on that last sentence, his heart clenching itself into a tiny ball. Could it be possible that Yoh, the real Yoh, loved him? How could he? After everything that he'd done to Yoh, how could Yoh love him? Because he was Yoh, Hao realized. He didn't understand hate and so he didn't feel it, even for those who'd hurt him. He'd proven that with Ren and Faust and so many others. Yoh loved them too, in his own way, so it wasn't inconceivable…

"Hey, are you alright?" Yoh asked worriedly, reaching up to touch his face. It was only then that Hao realized that there were tears running down his face. The pain in his chest had intensified to the point that he wasn't altogether sure that he wasn't having a heart attack. Everything that he'd ever told himself, the lies that he didn't need to feel, that he didn't need companionship came crashing down as he stared into the gentle, loving eyes of his brother, the brother he knew he could never really, truly have.

"Do you remember a couple days ago, the dream that made me go running out of the house?" He choked out. Yoh nodded his head. "It was a dream of a world, where we weren't raised together, where I continued on my quest to destroy humanity. In my dream I was trying to kill you, because you were in my way. I wanted to kill you and I didn't feel at all bad about it, because you were nothing to me, and I realized that it could have happened that way, if things had turned out differently, I might have killed you by now."

Yoh's arms were around him in a soft embrace by now and he buried his face in his shoulder, holding on tightly. It wasn't fair, he could never have this, so why dangle it in front of him? To make him see, to make him understand that what he'd been fighting for all this time wasn't truly what he needed. He felt whole here, with his brother, and all his hate and pain seemed to pale in the light of Yoh's love for him. But this could never be for real, and so he cried bitter tears of self-loathing.

"Don't let yourself think of the what-ifs." Yoh told him after a moment. "You'll only cause yourself pain that way."

"I don't deserve you." Hao whispered.

"You do." Yoh insisted. "Everyone deserves someone who loves them. And you need me, to keep the darkness at bay, I know that."

Hao let out a strange sobbing laugh at the irony of it all. He'd accused Yoh of being too sentimental, too weak-minded at one point, and yet here he was the one having an emotional breakdown while Yoh remained calm.

"You are… too good…" He managed to choke out.

"Shh, I'm here, I'm always here for you when you need me, and that's a promise." Yoh gripped his shoulders and smiled at him. "I know a lot of people think it's just you supporting me, but they're wrong, aren't they? I support you, just in different ways."

"In the most important ways." Hao confessed, getting his tears under control. He felt remarkably at peace now that he'd allowed his emotions to run their course. His mind felt empty and tranquil, something he did not feel in the 'real' world. He wished… oh if only he could find Kia, convince her to let him stay. Couldn't she do that? Couldn't she let him be happy here? Isn't that all she wanted in the end after all, for him to be happy?

He composed himself and managed a smile, not a fake one, but a genuine one. "I honestly don't know how you're so patient with me sometimes." He joked. Yoh grinned at him.

"I'm your brother, if I can't handle you, who can?" Yoh quipped in return. Hao laughed, for real happiness. The feeling made him a little bit giddy.

"Oh, it's my turn to make dinner, isn't it?" He asked Yoh. Yoh nodded his head. Hao stood, then hesitated a moment and leaned back down to hug Yoh again.

"What's this for?" Yoh asked, sounding pleased but puzzled.

"Just for being here, being you, otouto." Hao replied. "And to remind you that I love you too." Yoh chuckled slightly.

"You don't have to remind me of that, I already know."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~&~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~&~~~~~~~~~~~~

Star: Well there you have it, might take me a little bit to get back into the swing of things, almost three weeks without internet and I'm kind of going a little wild with catching up with my blogs and stuff.


	10. Chapter 10

Star: I own nothing!

Hao allowed himself to be dragged off goodness knows where by Yoh. It was night, getting to be a little bit later and he couldn't suppress a yawn. He'd been sleeping better since dropping into this reality, but he still liked his early bedtime routine.

"Quit dragging your feet, aniki, you're such an old man sometimes." Yoh teased. "Honestly, staying up late isn't going to kill you."

"Says the boy who naps most of his day away." Hao shot back. "Not all of us like dropping off in the middle of the day, otouto."

"Your bedtime is ridiculous, I know 10 year olds who stay up later." Yoh's eyes twinkled with merriment and Hao couldn't help but smile in return.

"You make a compelling argument, for once." Yoh elbowed him in the side, but laughed softly all the same. Hao made sure to keep the smile on his face, it wouldn't do to have Yoh see just how bad he felt. If only he could stay…

The two of them trekked up to the hill in the cemetery, greeting the ghosts that were all around, stopping to chat with a few before continuing on their way. They sat down at the top of the hill, both exhaling a sigh of contentment.

Yoh tilted his head to look up at the stars, but Hao's attention was taken up by the city below and around them. He'd always known they were there, but he ignored them with the distain he felt they deserved. For some reason tonight he felt drawn to them though, and he stared at the lights of the tall skyscrapers, some of them glowing green, blue, red or even purple.

The night was quiet enough that he could pick up the sound of cars quietly driving down the streets and even a couple of conversations down on the street. Suddenly he felt as though he could feel the city, with its myriad of people living, working and playing in it, breathing its slow breath. It was like a living thing in itself, and though it wasn't always so, it was in a sense, beautiful.

"Wish there were more stars to see here." Yoh mused. "They're always so beautiful."

"The city is beautiful in its own way though." Hao replied lazily, feeling calm and content. He saw Yoh smile out of the corner of his eye.

"Yeah, they are. All those lives packed up tight, living, loving, fates entwining and parting in brief moments. The city has its own heartbeat, doesn't it?" Hao nodded his head. "They can be sustained too, less waste, emissions, less space wasted, if the right people came around to design them."

"People like us, you mean?" Hao asked, leaning his head against Yoh's tilted one.

"Well, maybe not directly, but we can get people to sit up and listen a little more." Yoh clarified. "The big problem isn't that people are willfully wasteful, but that many are simply woefully ignorant about how damaging some of the stuff they do is."

"Governments won't tell them, corporations just want their money."

"Then we wrest power away." Yoh said decisively. "Nobody ever said being a king was easy, did they? Sometimes you have to make the hard decisions, but you don't have to make the extreme ones if you can get people to pay attention, right?"

"Exactly." Hao murmured. Yoh made it sound so simple, without the bloodshed that his ideas would have caused. Certainly humans could be pests, they could be destructive, but then again were shamans so different? He'd never even considered that side of things, that it was something all possessed, but could be changed if they tried.

He squeezed Yoh's hand briefly. "We're going to do big things, you and me." Yoh declared. "Doesn't even matter which of us wins, we're going to be co-kings, right?"

"Of course. Apart we're great, together we're an unstoppable force." Hao grinned. "Twin-power." Yoh laughed at him for that, and Hao joined in, delighted by the mingled sound. "Let's sleep out here tonight, it's not supposed to rain, and it's warm, so…"

"That is a delightfully childish suggestion and I would never have expected you to make it." Yoh teased. "Let's do it, the spirits can look out for us, why not?" Yoh flopped down on his back, grinning widely up at Hao. Hao chuckled and lay down as well, staring up at the few stars whose light was able to combat that of the city's light.

"Do you ever wonder if there's intelligent life out there?" Yoh asked, his voice already low and sleepy.

"I'm still trying to decide if there's intelligent life down here." Hao replied. Yoh's chuckle was cut short by a yawn. Within mere minutes Yoh was asleep. Hao propped himself up on his elbow and looked down at his younger brother. "Can you care, can you still call me brother, after everything I've done? Or am I doomed to only have this connection with you now, in this false reality." He whispered, half to himself.

He lay back down and shifted closer to Yoh. Instinctively it seemed Yoh's arms reached out to hug him close, like a teddy bear. Hao's throat constricted and he slowly returned the unconscious embrace, fully aware that doing so would only break his heart that much more.

"Enjoy it while you can." He whispered to himself, and then contented himself with falling asleep, listening to the crickets and the distant sound of cars.

%&%&%&%

Hao woke up to the sound of birds announcing the dawn. He sat up and noticed that the sun had not quite yet risen and smiled. He felt sore, and a little damp thanks to the morning dew, but he'd slept wonderfully, lulled to sleep by the sounds of the night. Matamune appeared beside him, calmly watching the sunrise.

"Welcome back." The cat spirit said quietly. Hao looked at him and wrinkled his brow in confusion.

"Back? Where did I go?" He asked. Matamune smiled at him, looking relieved.

"Nevermind." The cat spirit chuckled.

"Not going senile on me, are you?" Hao asked, scratching Matamune's ear the way he knew he liked.

"Considering you are older than me yet, I think it would be you going senile first." Matamune taunted and then began to purr. Hao used his other hand to shake Yoh awake.

"What?" Yoh yawned, blinking in confusion.

"You don't want to miss the sunrise, do you?" Hao asked. He stopped tormenting Matamune with his knowledge on how to make him purr and wrapped his arm around Yoh's shoulders. Yoh leaned into him, slinging an arm around Hao's shoulders too as they silently watched the sun cross the horizon.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Yoh murmured. "Every single day, and it's always different, always breath-taking."

"Then you should get up early more often to see it, otouto." Hao suggested. Yoh elbowed him in the ribs.

"Oh, now you're just being silly." He stuck his tongue out at his younger brother, simply because he could and he wouldn't be looked at funny for it. "I think we should go down to that café we like and have breakfast there and let the waitresses make googly eyes at you like they always do."

"Now who's being silly?" Hao teased. "Well it does so happen that I remembered my wallet when you dragged me out last night."

"Yay!" Yoh threw up his hands and got to his feet, dancing a silly little jig. "Come on then, what are we waiting for?"

"Slow down, slow down, let the old man get up." Matamune laughed as Hao slowly got to his feet.

"I'll show you old man, furball." Hao grumbled playfully, tweaking Matamune's split tail. The look of affection and relief he got in reply made his gut tighten unpleasantly. All a lie, he thought dismally, and it will end too soon. He pushed the thoughts away though as Yoh got behind him and began to push at him.

"Come on, aniki, you're so slow!" Hao laughed and then tipped backwards, pretending to fall down. "Oof, you're such a pain in the ass sometimes." Yoh grinned above him.

"You're a bigger pain in the ass to me." Hao retorted. "Always shoving me around, making me do silly things with you." He got up and slung an arm around Yoh's shoulders. "Honestly, I don't know why I keep you around sometimes."

"Entertainment value?" Yoh quipped. The three of them, the two brothers and the cat spirit, laughed and headed down to the street as the sun rose above the rooftops.


	11. Chapter 11

Star: I own nothing!

Hao lifted the old coat shoved at the back of the top shelf in the closet, feeling around for the present he was supposed to have hidden there. He pulled out a medium-sized box that was as of yet unwrapped and made a mental note to do so before tomorrow, their birthday.

He opened the box and had to smile slightly at this reality's Hao. Really, how sentimental could you get? A leather-bound book rested inside the box and Hao carefully opened it, knowing what he would find. Page upon page of drawings and paintings met his eyes, each with a short or long paragraph written at the side about the picture and what it meant. Many of them were of Yoh, or of Hao and Yoh. Some were more abstract and hinted at deeper feelings he was having at the time.

He sighed and closed the book again. It had been awhile since he'd put his artistic talents to use, to be honest he wasn't sure why he'd stopped. Maybe he began painting things that were too painful for him to face, he wasn't sure. He put the box back, making sure to hide it properly, and went to join Yoh back downstairs where he was watching a documentary about dinosaurs.

"You know, I have to say I'm really glad we don't have dinosaurs running around anymore." Yoh commented as Hao sat down.

"Hm, imagine a triceratops smashing through the city." Hao grinned and Yoh chortled. "As interesting as it would be to see one in real life, they should probably stay dead."

"No Jurassic Park?"

"No, and definitely no raptors." Hao had been bored on several occasions and watched television, one time tuning into Jurassic Park. It was surprisingly amusing to watch.

"They've got an exhibit in one of the museums right now, we should go sometime soon. I think there's one on feudal Japanese culture. We can go and you and Amidamaru can dissect everything they got wrong." Yoh offered, his eyes dancing wickedly.

"That does sound enticing." Hao admitted. "We also need to sign up for cram school this summer, don't we?"

"You want to risk it? I mean they could still get the tournament back underway." Yoh lazily yawned.

"If it does, we'll drop out, but it's a good idea to get a head start on high school." Hao replied.

"You're a sadist, wanting me to do schoolwork during the summer." Yoh's tone was light and teasing.

"More of a masochist, seeing as I'll be there, suffering right along with you." Hao retorted. A soft hum was his only reply and Hao realized that Yoh was drifting off to sleep. He waited until the younger was completely asleep and then slipped away, tiptoeing up the stairs to get Yoh's present.

"Any idea of what he got me?" He teasingly asked Matamune as he wrapped the box in recycled newspaper and began doodling cute little designs on it for good measure.

"Now Hao, you know that information's classified." Matamune admonished playfully.

"Can't blame a guy for trying." Hao replied, tugging on one of Matamune's whiskers. He was glad to have this relationship with the witty cat spirit back. He'd missed having someone to verbally spar with who wouldn't just agree with everything he said. "You think he'll like it?" Matamune snorted.

"He'd like it even if it was a bundle of plain old sticks, simply because you got it for him out of love."

"Simple child." Hao shook his head.

"Being able to take pleasure in the little things leads to a happier life." Matamune intoned.

"Yes, thank you Mister Philosopher." Hao teased, tweaking one of Matamune's ears. Matamune hissed playfully at him in reply. Hao finished with his doodles and nodded in satisfaction. He hid the box once more in the closet and decided Yoh had the right idea. He sat down in the little window alcove in their room and comfortably drifted off to sleep with the sun warming him gently.

He dreamed of his mother, something he often did, but this time the dream was different. Usually it was about the day she died, but this time they were just talking together. He couldn't remember what they were talking about, but he did remember his mother's last words to him before he woke up; 'all I want for you is for you to be happy.'

He woke up with tears drying on his face. He wiped them off, feeling no shame in having cried. He sat for a couple moments, contemplating the message of the dream. He wanted to be happy, he did, he just didn't think it existed for him in the real world.

A soft sound, tinkling and musical, sounded from the floor below. Hao frowned slightly, the sound was familiar, though he didn't know why. The sound came again and along with it the memory of words spoken to him…

_The time for this spell to end will come after you hear this sound_

Hao's heart jolted and he felt sick to his stomach. Standing up shakily he wandered downstairs, willing himself to believe that he hadn't heard what he thought he had heard. Yoh stood in the front hall, twisting a small set of glass windchimes around in his hands, inspecting it. Hao felt the blood drain from his face.

He managed to compose himself as Yoh looked up, grinning happily. "Hey, aniki, look what someone left us!" Yoh chirped happily. "Isn't it pretty?"

Hao pasted a smile on his face and moved forward to touch the delicate windchime. "Yeah, it's beautiful." He managed to say without sounding choked up. "Why don't we hang it from the porch in the backyard? That's where the wind blows most often after all."

"Okay." Yoh happily wandered off to do just that and Hao inspected the box that the windchimes had come in. There was no return address, no note, nothing to indicate where it had come from, but Hao knew all the same.

"Please…" He whispered, but he knew it was futile. He set the box down again and walked towards the backyard, determined to enjoy the last day he had with his brother before it was going to be ripped away from him.

They talked animatedly over dinner, about movies, friends, and just stupid everyday things, things Hao never got to talk about and probably never would again, at least not in this life. He was determined to enjoy it, for however long it might last. He even suggested they watch a long movie, so he wouldn't have to go to sleep so soon.

But inevitably it had to end, and Hao had to admit defeat as Yoh rubbed at drooping eyes and yawned widely. "I think it's time to hit the hay, big day tomorrow." The younger of the twins said, grinning hugely. Hao managed a grin of his own and then followed Yoh upstairs, careful not to seem upset to his little brother. "You'll like what I got you, I just know it." Yoh said with tired excitement.

"I always do." Hao reminded him. Yoh gave him a quick hug around the shoulders.

"I know, but this year I think tops every other year."

"Stop it, I'm not going to be able to sleep with the anticipation." Hao joked as they got ready for bed. "I bet my gift will top yours."

"Nuh-uh." Yoh retorted, sticking out his tongue as he lay down. Hao turned off the light and lay down too, but didn't go to sleep. He waited until he was sure Yoh was asleep and then sat up, staring down at his younger twin.

"What I wouldn't give to stay here forever, but that's not possible is it?" Hao whispered, brushing an errant strand of hair out of Yoh's face. "I wonder if this really exists, a parallel universe of sorts, and your Hao will be back when this spell ends. I guess I'll never know."

He went silent, contemplating the last several days. He'd gone from contempt to understanding to affection in such a short time, it was almost ridiculous. But, looking at himself critically, not just ignoring those parts of himself that he tried to forget, it was easier to see that he'd been affection starved for so long and Yoh was… well, Yoh. There wasn't any other way to say it, really.

If he killed himself right now, maybe then he wouldn't go back. But in the end, he was too much of a coward. He didn't like dying, for all that he'd done it twice already. Also, he could just wind up back in his own world, or stuck in some strange limbo. The idea that this reality's Yoh would find him in the morning dead also persisted, even though he knew this all wasn't real.

"Maybe next time around, things will be different." He whispered, half to himself. "If I die again, let them kill me, I can come back, and start over, no more plans, no more scheming, just let myself be raised in a loving family. Of course you won't be there, but at least it would be something. And perhaps someday, someday I'll have the courage to find you, and tell you just how sorry I am."

Hao stayed awake, fighting sleep for as long as he could, long into the night. Eventually though, his body's demands won out and his heavy eyelids could no longer be denied. As he lay down he turned so that the last thing he saw before he drifted off was his brother's face.

Star: Sorry this took so long, wound up with a bit of writer's block writing this chapter, next one should come out quicker, I hope.


	12. Chapter 12

Star: I own nothing!

Hao avoided opening his eyes as long as he could, but he knew from the moment he'd awoken that he was back in the 'real world'. The light coming in from the window was wrong, and there were no soft snores that had become familiar to him.

He sat up, looking around the bedroom of his house, completely alone, and began to sob quietly. "It's not fair." He moaned. "It's not fair." He curled up into a ball and allowed himself to cry out his pain and his loss.

Finally he had calmed down enough to try and get up. He didn't put on his cloak, his gloves, or any of his regular clothes, he chose instead a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He went downstairs and sighed at the lonely sight of his kitchen, empty of Yoh's cheerfulness. He went through the motions, making himself breakfast, but he had no appetite and wound up scraping at least half of the food into the garbage.

The house was too empty, too lonely for Hao and so he got out of the house to take a walk, just to go anywhere. He wound up back in the park where this had all began. It was very early, so there were only a few hard-core joggers out. He sat down on one of the swings and used a foot to push himself back and forth.

A shadow loomed over him after some time and he looked up, unsurprised to see Kia standing over him. "That was cruel." He told her. She gazed at him, looking old and sad.

"I know." She replied sorrowfully. "It was a last resort and I'd had no intention of seeing your soul fall into darkness. Nevertheless, I'm sorry."

"There wasn't a way I could have stayed?" Hao hated the pleading tone in his voice, but he was too broken to change it. Kia shook her head and he lowered his own. "So, great, I learn how to be happy again, and then I can never actually attain it?"

"Hao, the whole point of the spell was for you to see that you can achieve happiness again, even after all this time." Kia lifted his chin to look him in the eye. "The difference is, you're just going to have to work a little harder at it here."

"Yoh's not going to want me, not after everything I've done to him." Hao said hopelessly.

"People will always surprise you, Hao." Kia informed him. "In any case, Yoh isn't your only option. You could disappear, lead a 'normal' life, let people around you in, start a family, anything. You know now that you are still capable of trusting people, and that people aren't as bad as you had always thought. All I'm asking is that you try, not for my sake, but for your own. You don't want to be alone anymore, do you?"

"No." Hao admitted quietly.

"If nothing else, my door is always open, my friend and you know if you need me you'll be able to find me." Kia knelt and hugged him gently. "I'm sorry it hurts, but it's worth the pain if you're willing to try." Hao embraced her back.

"Thank you, for still believing in me." He said as she let go of him. She smiled warmly at him.

"Someone has to care for the lost souls, why not me?" She replied. "Happy birthday, Hao." She said, and then strolled off.

"Happy birthday to me." Hao murmured to himself. "What better day for new beginnings, right?" He sighed and got up, not sure where he was going, but not wanting to go back to the emptiness of his house. He wandered the streets for awhile, not really paying attention to the world around him. If the X-Laws had dropped out of the sky at that time he would not have cared, nor would he have cared if they'd killed him, it would give him a chance to start again, right from scratch, after all.

He stopped and considered the implications of that thought. No, dying was not the right option, not yet. There were many other things he could consider first, weren't there? Besides, he had a feeling Kia would find a way to the afterlife and drag him back out again, lecturing him the whole way. Kind of funny, when he thought about it.

He looked up and saw that he was in front of an arts supplies store. Well, it was a start, he supposed, and went inside. He purchased a couple of notebooks, along with some pencils, pens and coloured pencils along with a satchel. The small act gave him a sense of purpose, something to work on at the very least.

He headed up to the hill in the cemetery in Funbari Hill. It probably wasn't the wisest place for him to go, after all Yoh and his friends often went there, but it was familiar, and the view was good from up there.

He started off with a sketch of Yoh, trying to lock in place the memory of him as he was in the other reality. He drew him smiling at the viewer, smiling at Hao, a book in his lap. It hurt to know that Yoh would most likely never look at him with that smile again, but he wanted to remember it, so he kept drawing, even though some moments he felt like tearing the page apart and scattering the pieces to the wind.

He finished and since the sun was starting to set he started on drawing a picture of the landscape with his coloured pencils. It was nearing full dark when he stopped, critically appraising his work. It certainly wasn't up to his old standards, but it was nice to see that he'd retained some of his talent. He was putting his signature at the bottom when he heard footsteps in the short grass behind him.

"Well, you're the last person I was expecting to find up here." Hao's hand trembled slightly as he put the finishing flourishes to his signature and then turned to face Yoh. The younger twin tilted his head slightly, gazing thoughtfully at him. Well, at least it wasn't hate or fear, though Hao knew how quickly that could change.

"Why, because you thought I was dead?" Hao asked, trying to keep his voice even and gentle. Yoh shook his head.

"No, I never thought you were dead, I'm not arrogant enough to think that what I did could have killed you." He admitted. "At best I knew I'd just bought some time, though I'm surprised you've done nothing after this much time has passed." Hao grimaced slightly, seeing Yoh's questioning look. How could he explain this without sounding like a lunatic?

"I was… sidetracked." He said vaguely. This Yoh wouldn't expect a full explanation from him.

"Must have been some distraction." Yoh commented, and after a moment's hesitation, walked over and sat down beside him, keeping a small distance between them. "So, what are you doing out here?" Hao turned his face away, watching as the light of the day faded.

"Oh, just, enjoying the view." He said calmly, wanting to see what Yoh would make of that. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Yoh looking out at the view, seeing the buildings and city lights spread out below.

"Somehow… somehow I did not expect you to say that." Yoh let out a faint chuckle. "I didn't think you of all people would find beauty in this kind of landscape."

"Opinions change." Hao replied vaguely, shrugging his shoulders. He could feel Yoh's gaze on him, trying to figure him out. Yoh was smart, it was nice to see that it hadn't been all due to Hao in that alternate reality.

"Are you alright?" Hao looked up at the concern in Yoh's voice. Even in the dark he could see that Yoh's brow was furrowed in worry. He shook his head slightly, surprised by Yoh's kindness but knowing he shouldn't be.

"How come you're not with your merry band of idiots, celebrating your birthday?" Hao asked, trying to shift the conversation in another direction. There really was no way he could explain what was going on with him without sounding completely insane.

"They're not total idiots, but… I needed to get away for a little bit, that level of revelry can be exhausting, and I just wanted a moment to myself." Yoh explained. "It's been a good birthday though, one of the best, I think."

"Hm, lucky you." Hao didn't mean to sound bitter, but it came out anyway. He looked away from Yoh, but he could still feel the other's eyes on him. He bit his lip, resisting the urge to tackle-hug his younger twin. Such an act would only scare Yoh and possibly provoke an attack. The loneliness within him ached dully with Yoh so near though.

"There's no one waiting for you, is there?" Yoh finally asked. Hao closed his eyes and smiled slightly at Yoh's perceptiveness.

"No, I am alone, as I've been for much of my life." He admitted quietly. In his peripheral vision he saw Yoh reach out a hand, hesitate and then retract it. "Do you ever think about how things might be different, if different choices were made?"

"All the time." Yoh sighed. "But, it's no good dwelling on what's done, all that you can do is try to make things better for tomorrow."

"Sometimes that's easier said than done." Hao told him.

"I know." Yoh's voice was a little sad. The two of them were silent for a few moments, looking out onto the city as the moon rose. "Do you… would you like to go out for a coffee or something? My treat."

"I… would like that, yes." Hao said slowly, making certain not to sound so eager. Yoh smiled at him in the dark and stood up. Hao stood up as well, placing his art supplies carefully back in their satchel and dusting off his pants. He walked alongside Yoh, seeing the delighted grin that his younger brother was trying to hide.

Okay, so maybe he couldn't turn back time, and grow up with Yoh, and maybe they'd never have that kind of relationship, but here, right now, it was a start. He could work with this, and he could make sure that he and Yoh had a future together, as friends, and maybe as brothers too. This was just the beginning of a whole new life.

THE END

Star: Well, that's it folks, another story done, hope you all enjoyed and I'll be back soon with a brand-spanking-new story.


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